Bridging the Ancient ✓

Chapter 30

I bend low to the ground, running my fingers through the damp sand. My power searches through the cold, course particles and in my throat, I smell and taste every bit of the ocean. I take a chunk of that sand and grind it through my palm, all the while standing to ask Renit if he's figured out the location of the first crystal yet.

He hasn't. We've been standing on the beach for nearly an hour, searching through my power for that crystal, but haven't found anything. He flips through the pages of the book again, nearly tearing them at the seams, and mutters underneath his breath about how foolish this is.

The wind tears at our clothes and the rain that might as well be mist patters down onto the sand. Only feet away does the water meet the shore, embracing only for a second before disappearing again. I watch that water drift back, catching on small rocks and shells before sinking down into the caramel colored sand. The same sand that is now crusting my boots.

For as far as my eyes can see, the ocean carries and melts into the grey skyline. What was a powerful storm minutes ago with lightning and rumbles of thunder, is now mist and the dying out of such extremes.

My hair has turned damp, my clothes are sticky, and I find myself shivering with every bout of wind threatening to drag that storm back in.

But Flitsea has gone on as normal as if this storm is a daily routine and if they slow down for it, that's the end of this entire operation. They survive based on fishing and just off the shore, out towards the rocks, a fisherman pulls a net from the water and shouts to his family to gather the cleaning tools. Fish thrash from where they're trapped—unaware that their final moments are approaching.

"Any bit of location has been smudged out," Renit grumbles. He slams the book shut and despite the damp air, dust clouds the leather. We brought some of the castle with us.

I urge for the book, a curling of my fingers, and he drops it into my palm. A second set of young eyes will not do us any good but at least it looks like I'm trying to find something. I might, eventually, if I stare at these damn pages hard enough.

In ancient text, the location of the crystals has been left up to us. The ink has long since faded but I squint hard at the words. Whoever wrote this decided to use the most complicated handwriting possible; as if this wasn't hard enough. I wanted to stay in the castle and mend my relationship with Celestine, maybe go so far as to rehabilitate Silas but here I am, days away from both of them.

I make out a few of the words to be: pointed peak, popping, buried. That doesn't make any sense. I bring the book closer to my face and locate the word 'ear' in front of popping.

Something clicks. "I know where it is!" I exclaim.

Renit turns quickly, ripping the book from my hands before I can show him what I've deciphered. His metallic eyes shift quickly over the pages, excitement causing him to skip over words, until he frowns and presses the book against my stomach in defeat. "Are you going to gloat or are you going to tell me what you've discovered?"

I grin. That only makes his impatience worse. "We need to find a pointed peak—a rock. That's where they buried the box housing the crystal. It's in the ocean and we have to swim deep enough for our ears to start popping!" I jab my finger against the paper, the sense of accomplishment flooding my thoughts. I did it. I discovered something before Renit could.

Instead of him jumping directly towards finding the pointed rock, his mouth quirks to the side. "That can't be right. It's not that simple. Wouldn't the ancient witches use...riddles or something?" He asks.

I shake my head before he can finish speaking. "No, this mission is already difficult enough." I chew on my cheek. "The locations of the crystals are spread out for the sake of difficulty but their descriptions—underneath the right eyes of the Marron bloodline—are available for viewing. It was just bad luck that the ink faded."